V8SC – Red Bull sees double, Volvo stands out

“These two cars (Holdens of Red Bull Racing Australia) are in another league. » explains Shane van Gisbergen, 3rd almost 7″ behind the two Holdens in the first heat. Here's how to summarize this Saturday in V8 Supercars. Started on pole and won the first round. Jamie Whincup, who recently extended his lease with the Red Bull Racing Australia team, left no one to take the initiative for the resumption of V8 Supercars in 2014. The driver of the Holden Commodore n°1 had nevertheless seen his teammate Craig Lowndes steals the show at the start. But after an early pit stop, the 2013 champion recovered his property to claim the first victory of the season. He finished ahead of Lowndes for a one-two finish for Red Bull Racing Australia and Shane van Gisbergen (Tekno Autosports) who completed the podium for a hat-trick for Holdens. Mark Winterbottom took 4th place, ahead of Fabian Coulthard, Rick Kelly, Scott McLaughlin, Jason Bright, James Courtney and Scott Pye for the top 10 in the first heat. Less success for Chaz Mostert and David Reynolds and their Ford Falcon, forced to retire.

In the second heat, Craig Lowndes put his stamp on the race. The driver of the Holden Commodore from Triple Eight Race Engineering (with whom Red Bull Australia has a partnership) retained the lead at the first corner, while Scott McLaughlin and his Volvo S60 from Polestar Racing challenged Jamie Whincup. This duo will liven up the race until the end. The intervention of the safety car on the 12th lap (out of the 39 in this second round) following the loss of James Courtney's door after contact with Lee Holdsworth, will cause the two leaders to stop simultaneously, but Lowndes regained his position thanks to the stops of the other drivers. If the latter encountered no difficulty in picking up his first victory of the season, the fight for second place raged until the last lap. Whincup and McLaughlin faced off in a real door-to-door duel before the last corner and it was the Volvo driver who took advantage of a small error from the Holden in the last corner to take second place, for the return of the Swedish brand to Australian motorsport. Whincup finished 3rd after his victory in the first heat.

The last race of the Clipsal 500 will take place tomorrow morning, a little before 7 a.m. French time.